Help...MSC or Royal?

[momof4blessings]

On 10/8/2022 at 12:10 PM, kwokpot said:

Congratulations. May I ask what experience level did you book? Bella, Fantastica, or Aurea? The ship will be beautiful, I just got off the sister ship the Seashore. The biggest difference  you'll notice right away is Americans will be in the minority; mostly Italians, Spaniards, Germans. there will be lots of passengers that don't speak English.  The indoor pool and water park is pretty amazing. Helpful hint: ASK for regular tap water in the MDR, otherwise they will serve you bottled water WHICH IS NOT FREE. 

I booked Fantastica, and chose connecting balcony cabins on deck 11. Thanks for the tip about the water!
 

I wonder if the passenger demographic will be different going over Christmas as opposed to during school, but either way it’s fine by me. We only cruise out of Florida now, even though it’s not the closest port, because going out of Charleston feels like being at Pigeon Forge on a cruise ship (we love visiting PF, but it’s a different clientele 😅) and similar issues with New Orleans or the NY area ports. My only cultural thing with a high European concentration is the swimsuits tend to have less fabric than I prefer, but the bodies in them tend to be less obese, so it’s a trade off! (Now that I’ve generalized and stereotyped…sorry if I offended anyone 🙈)

[mscdivina2016]

1 hour ago, hova said:

I don't know your history with MSC, but I don't get your logic.    If I didn't like the customer service or food, I would pick a different line for my upcoming cruises.  Could you explain why you keep going back to MSC?  On a side note, I have cruised with most lines, except for MSC, but recently booked a Mediterrean (Euriba) and Trans Atlantic (Seashore) for 2023, so I am genuinely interested in your response.    hova

They truly have a great product. Yacht club!!

It is fantastic. They also have some great itineraries. I have an 18 night Saudi Arabia cruise in YC that I am really looking forward to.

 

I never said food. YC food is good. It's the IT and customer service that is the pits.

 

My history may be more than the average person as we cruise all the time. Currently on 16 Night NCL Alaska/Hawaii cruise and once we get off we hop on 21 night panama cruise.

 

The worst thing MSC did to me was downgrade me from Yacht Grand suite to a regular balcony cabin on deck 8 with NO reduction in fare and no access to yacht club.

 

Next issue was they accidentally cancelled a cruise that was paid in full.  They rebooked me but it was a $1000 more. Told me to pay it in writing and will refund it back after the cruise. Never got it back yet.

I have all this in a letter and it's been half a year so far.

Many room changes, changed dates of cruises, changed port of embarkation all with no notice .

 

A real diamond in the rough. 

 

Seashore is a great ship.

[mscdivina2016]

1 hour ago, momof4blessings said:

I booked Fantastica, and chose connecting balcony cabins on deck 11. Thanks for the tip about the water!
 

😅 🙈

Check your booking daily!

 I wouldn't be surprised if the connecting cabins get taken from you. 

We have a family cruise coming, 12 cabins in YC including 2 connected bookings and they got taken away.  Has not been put back yet. We are told they were resold. TA is in panic mode as we have a contract. 

[APDMOM]

Customer service at MSC is hit-or-miss for us.  We have had mostly positive experiences.  When we don't find a good rep when we call, we just close out the call with the poor rep, call again, and usually have a better rep.  We had an amazing experience with one excellent rep who got most of our COVID refunds in one call - wish we could have his direct extension!  🙂

[shipgeeks]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I will admit that I have never had to deal with their customer service.

Same here, as we've never had any issues that led us to need to contact them (via phone, website, or onboard).  Everything has always gone as planned for us, and more than satisfactory.

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Check your booking daily!

 I wouldn't be surprised if the connecting cabins get taken from you. 

We have a family cruise coming, 12 cabins in YC including 2 connected bookings and they got taken away.  Has not been put back yet. We are told they were resold. TA is in panic mode as we have a contract. 

I don't understand how they can resell a cabin or block of cabins that are already booked?  How does this happen?

[mscdivina2016]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I don't understand how they can resell a cabin or block of cabins that are already booked?  How does this happen?

They can do what ever they want per T&C yet they don't follow them.

 

Adjoining cabins are sought after. So you book them and someone else wants adjoining so they still sell to them and move you to guarantee. Hoping you have air or hotels, time off ect with the BS of we will try and correct it, send an email, blah ,blah, blah.

 

Regular Yacht club cabins Have a few larger ones so that again is sought after.

I have several cruises over the next 6 months and three they have taken my chosen room away.

TA is caught in the middle. Family cruise is another cluster. We are now on 2 decks and cabins were chosen for very specific reasons.

If they don't fix it, the other yacht club guests will not be happy.

[Georgia_Peaches]

39 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

They can do what ever they want per T&C yet they don't follow them.

 

Adjoining cabins are sought after. So you book them and someone else wants adjoining so they still sell to them and move you to guarantee. Hoping you have air or hotels, time off ect with the BS of we will try and correct it, send an email, blah ,blah, blah.

 

Regular Yacht club cabins Have a few larger ones so that again is sought after.

I have several cruises over the next 6 months and three they have taken my chosen room away.

TA is caught in the middle. Family cruise is another cluster. We are now on 2 decks and cabins were chosen for very specific reasons.

If they don't fix it, the other yacht club guests will not be happy.

Honestly, I'm without words.  You have prompted me to check my booking.  Perhaps our YC inside suite has been taken away in favor of a deluxe balcony...but thankfully, it has not.  Actually, like you, I'd be upset if they took our inside suite away.  I booked it specifically because it doesn't have a balcony door...which means my neighbors can't sleep with their balcony door open, thus making my room hot.  But truly, the fact that MSC engages in such tactics is alarming.

[shipgeeks]

GP, Please don't waste any effort in worrying about your booking.  The previous poster has had some unique situations that will never apply to the rest of us.  99% never have any problems.

[asalligo]

I Love MSC prices, but it would be hard for me to believe they are really competing with Royal. 

[lcpagejr]

I would only cruise on MSC in Yacht Club.... Done it twice....Public venues are beautiful on the new ships...but their organization does not match the main stream lines. Yacht Club is a ship within ship....they really make you feel special.

[1kaper]

On 10/8/2022 at 2:14 PM, APDMOM said:

 

So happy to hear you were able to come to a consensus.  We have cruised on 6 different lines and MSC is our new favorite.  The shows are the MOST family friendly and the BEST we have seen.  We are booked on Seascape for March 2023...  If you are interested in our Seaside Trip Report, I am linking it here.   It is the same class as Seascape and it may give you a bit of helpful tips regarding MSC.  In case you don't know yet (I did not read all replies), be sure to match one person per cabin for MSC loyalty perks. 

 

 

 

When in March?  We are also booked on Seascape for March 12th. 

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, 1kaper said:

"Seascape for March 12th."

We are booked for the 12th of March as well.

 

[1kaper]

1 minute ago, no1talks said:

We are booked for the 12th of March as well.

 

Awesome. 

I'm going with a group of friends.  For some it will be their first cruise.  I think there is about 17 of us. 

[cellfree]

We cruise between MSC and Carnival. Both different experiences. Haven’t cruised Royal for many years. 
MSC - have never cruised yacht club and have had wonderful experiences on MSC. Have cruised interior as well as balcony. Room Steward still does cabins twice a day. Just back from Divina (on during Ian) and food great, dining room now offers “daily choices” every night which include salmon (delicious) and steak (equally as good). Also for first time had lobster on elegant night on MSC. Buffet also excellent. Service throughout the ship is great. Various music in the different venues. No problems and/or complaints from us. 

[mscdivina2016]

3 hours ago, no1talks said:

We are booked for the 12th of March as well.

 

As are we.

 Taking my daughter and family as well. Wanted to introduce them to Yacht club.

[cruising.mark.uk]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:06 AM, mscdivina2016 said:

They can do what ever they want per T&C yet they don't follow them.

 

If they don't fix it, the other yacht club guests will not be happy.

Yawn......

[mscdivina2016]

4 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Yawn......

Lol,

I don't even want to be on it.  My family is loud and I think there are 14 kids so I am glad I have the premium booze package.

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

.....My family is loud....

Trying to work out where they learned that particular trait from!! 😂

Edited October 12, 2022 by hamrag

[mscdivina2016]

Just now, hamrag said:

Trying to work out where they learned that particular trait from!! 😂

Touche 😊

[momof4blessings]

On 10/11/2022 at 10:43 AM, cellfree said:

We cruise between MSC and Carnival. Both different experiences. Haven’t cruised Royal for many years. 
MSC - have never cruised yacht club and have had wonderful experiences on MSC. Have cruised interior as well as balcony. Room Steward still does cabins twice a day. Just back from Divina (on during Ian) and food great, dining room now offers “daily choices” every night which include salmon (delicious) and steak (equally as good). Also for first time had lobster on elegant night on MSC. Buffet also excellent. Service throughout the ship is great. Various music in the different venues. No problems and/or complaints from us. 

 

Yeah, it would cost more for just 2 of us to cruise yacht club than we're paying for all 6 of us at balcony level/fantastica. If I had that much extra to spend, I would hire a cleaning service for my own house year-round, before I'd splurge on a higher service level for a week, you know? I mean, I'm sure it is amazing, but regular cruising service is already a big step up from my day-to-day life lol! This is our first time even getting a balcony, and I only did that because it was basically a free upgrade. I'm not knocking those who enjoy YC...more power to you! I just haven't arrived at that level yet! 😂

[APDMOM]

On 10/11/2022 at 8:28 AM, 1kaper said:

When in March?  We are also booked on Seascape for March 12th. 

We board on the 19th 🙂

[lcpagejr]

On 8/29/2022 at 7:00 PM, poohdreaming said:

It really depends on everyone liking.

MSC cruise prices are really good.

 

Food - a lot of people are saying MSC food is okay.

Their pizza are the best.

No self serve ice cream.

No hotdogs, chicken fingers yet.

 

Shows - some might find MSC shows boring.

 

I just wanted to comment about the animal towel.

Most cruise lines are done with making animal towels.

However, if you requested it and/or your cabin steward is happy - can make animal towels.

 

I guess you never ate in the Marketplace?? I've cruised on Seaside 2x...Plenty of burgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers available on my sailings!?

[poohdreaming]

20 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

I guess you never ate in the Marketplace?? I've cruised on Seaside 2x...Plenty of burgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers available on my sailings!?

 

FYI, on the Divina it is called: "Calumet & Manitou Buffet"

Not every cruise ships have the same offering or the same restaurant.

[lcpagejr]

17 hours ago, poohdreaming said:

 

FYI, on the Divina it is called: "Calumet & Manitou Buffet"

Not every cruise ships have the same offering or the same restaurant.

 

17 hours ago, poohdreaming said:

 

FYI, on the Divina it is called: "Calumet & Manitou Buffet"

Not every cruise ships have the same offering or the same restaurant.

FYI  ..based on my review of Divina Buffet video tour  on You Tube... Burgers, Hot Dogs, and Fries were proudly showing...LOL   Also softserve ice cream by Pool in afternoon.... 

Edited October 15, 2022 by lcpagejr